Louis XV sat on the French throne for 52 years (1715-1774). His coins depict him at different ages; on the écu shown here, the little king is about six years old. Such silver coins had once been introduced by Louis XV's great-great-grandfather, whose name had been Louis as well (XIII). Since then, the écu had always depicted the portrait of a king named Louis. For that reason these coins were also known as Louis d'argent, silver Louis.